The Witch and the Warden
by The Iron Youth
Summary: "If this is 'love,' I wish to ascertain that you do not feel the same." "And if I do?" Ace!Morrigan and her male Warden in a series of vignettes.
1. Weakness

Morrigan was not the first woman to have invited Rian back to her tent, so to speak, but as she smirked down at him, he knew it was the last he would take to. She rolled her hips, teasing him through his trousers, and he groaned, "Morrigan."

She let out a low laugh from deep in her throat as his hands came up to take hold of her waist. She leaned down, nipping at his lips, but refusing to kiss him outright. She moved to his jaw and then down to his neck, and he let out another low sound, resisting the urge to buck beneath her. "You are much improved from the first time we shared a bedroll," she breathed against his neck.

He was far too preoccupied to respond with more than a half-hearted chuckle as his hands moved, stroking up her sides and then to the base of her breasts. He heard her breath hitch, and might have missed her subtle recoil if he wasn't so intensely interested in her movements. His hands moved back down, but she pressed back against him, making a noise of disapproval at his retreat and taking his lips in a heady kiss. He turned a hand downwards, moving across her belly toward her center when he felt her lips press into a thin line against his.

"Morrigan," he said, frowning as he took hold of her waist again in an effort to put some space between them.

"What," she asked, tone sharp. She frowned as she leaned away from him, and for a second, Rian though he might have imagined her reactions.

He wet his lips, thinking on how to word the question for a moment. "Is this... what you want?"

She pressed her hands to his chest to push herself further away before she answered. "I am certain that I do not understand your meaning." Her tone was a warning that he had heard before, but it was rarely heeded, and she already knew that.

"Me- this." He moved a hand from his waist to motion toward their lower bodies.

"Do you truly think that I would be here if this was not what I wanted?"

He pushed himself up on his elbows and watched her for another moment as her hands dropped to her sides. Any conversation with her had the potential to turn sour, but he was already barreling in that direction; there was no need to shy from his course now. "Just because you're here doesn't mean we have to... lay together."

She took a sharp breath and looked away from him, glaring at nothing before she looked back to him. "If you did not wish for this, why did you invite me here? I told you anything more between us would be a delusion."

Rian let out a bitter laugh and lay back again, hands under his head. "And if this is not what you wanted, why did you come? You shy away every time I try to touch you. _If this is not what you want_, you only have to say so."

Confusion was a rare expression on Morrigan's face, and indeed, it lasted only a moment as she considered his words before relief spread over her features. "Truly?"

"There is more to being with someone than sex, Morrigan. Delusion or not."

Morrigan let out a breath and she looked away from him again. "If this is what you wished for, why did you not seek out Leliana? She is certainly more versed in these matters than myself."

Rian shifted and motioned. Morrigan allowed herself to be pulled down to him, and he cradled her face as he kissed her, slow and delicate. "Because I want _you_, Morrigan."

"Oh, you are a most frustrating man," she murmured against his lips.

"I know," he smirked. "You keep telling me. Are you going to move now?"

"Hm," Morrigan hummed as she moved to lay beside him. He rolled to his side, watching as she continued to consider him. "I wish to ask a question of you."

"You have my full attention."

Her brow furrowed for a moment as she looked down to his lips and then back up to his eyes. "I want to know your opinion of 'love'."

"Are you trying to tell me that you love me?" He teased, but her frown only deepened, and he cleared his throat. "Why are you asking?"

"You and I have been intimate, for one. We have been... close for some time now. You are... impressive... in many ways, and you protected me from Flemeth without hope of reward. And now, here we lay in each other's arms, and you say there is more that you desire than sex." She paused, taking a shaking breath. "I feel anxious when I look upon you. I dislike this sense of dependency. 'Tis a weakness I abhor. If this is 'love,' I wish to ascertain that you do not feel the same."

"And if I do?"

Her expression sharpened. "Then we are both fools, and we need to do something immediately. I have allowed myself to become... too close. This is a weakness for us both." Her face shifted to a determined expression as she wanted for him to answer.

"Love is hardly a weakness, Morrigan," he said, running his fingers through her hair before cupping her face again.

"You are not listening to me!" She frowned at him and sat up. "Do not be such a fool, Rian! This is for your own good. I would not... I am not like other women. I am not worth your distraction. And you... are not worth mine," she finished, as if not entirely believing her own words.

"You _are_ worth it," he insisted.

"I... You are impossible." She paused, taking a breath and shaking her head at him. "Have it your way," she said as she lay next to him again, fitting her head beneath his chin. "But I will tell you truly now. You will regret it, in the end."

"Mhm," he mumbled, pressing a kiss into her hair.


	2. Selfish

Morrigan stood at the fireplace in Rian's chambers, staring into the embers. "Do not be alarmed," she said as she turned to him, "It is only I."

It would hardly be possible for him to mistake her for anyone else. He gave a tired half-smirk, Riordan's words still heavy on his mind. "I'm glad to see you," he said, tone honest, unable to think of anything clever as he moved across the room.

"I did not come here to speak of sentimental things. I came here to speak with you." Her tone was sharper than he expected and he came to a stop, just out of reach of her. "I have a plan, you see. A way out. The loop in your hole." She paused, taking a step closer, and when she spoke again, her tone was quieter. "I know what happens when the Archdemon dies. I know a Grey Warden must be sacrificed, and that sacrifice could be you. I have come to tell you this does not need to be."

He thought for a moment that she would suggest turning him into some kind of animal and spiriting him away, leaving Alistair to die, and them free. He hesitated before pushing the thought away. "How do you know this?"

"I know a great many things," she said, giving a self-assured quirk of her lips. "How I know is not quite as important as what I am offering you, however. I offer a way out. For all the Grey Wardens. That there need be no sacrifice. A ritual... performed on the eve of battle, in the dark of night."

"You said it was a way out?" He prompted.

"It is old magic. From a time before the Circle of Magi was created. Some might call it blood magic, but that is but a name. There is far more to fear in this world than names."

"Blood magic?" He took a shocked step forward making a sharp motion with his hand. "This is a joke."

"Hush," she said, mirroring his step and taking his hand in her own. Her fingers ran over his knuckles as she studied his scars. "We have become very close, you and I. Even if you do not trust me, know that I wish you no harm... not tomorrow, and certainly not now." She looked back up to his eyes, and he was taken aback by the sincerity in her gaze. "All I ask is that you listen to what I have to offer, nothing more."

Rian took a breath and nodded for her to continue. She dropped his hand and turned away, striding over to take a seat on the foot of his bed. "What I propose is this-" she paused, her words tightening as if difficult to say as she looked at the floor. "Lay with me. Here, tonight. And from our joining, a child will be conceived." She folded her hands in her lap, turning her face to him again. "The child will bear the taint, and when the archdemon is slain, its essence will seek the child like a beacon. At this early stage, the child can absorb that essence and not perish. The archdemon is still destroyed, with no Grey Warden dying in the process."

Coming to stand in front of her, Rian frowned, arms crossing over his chest. "You laughed at the idea of me wanting more, and now you want to bear my tainted child."

"Think of what I offer you," Morrigan insisted quickly, leaning toward him. "The chance to avoid death! Or better yet, the chance to slay the archdemon and live as a hero. No Grey Warden has ever done this."

"Morrigan, if I chose to live it is not so I can be a hero. And if I survive the battle, the Calling will still claim my life," he shook his head, but stopped when he realized she had more to say. A suspicion he believed snuffed out long ago twisted in his gut. "You get something out of this, too."

"I will conceive a child, one who will be born with the soul of an Old God." She looked down to his chest and took a shaky breath. "After this is done, you will allow me to walk away... and you do not follow. Ever. The child will be mine to raise as I wish."

Rian felt his blood run cold as an unfamiliar ache blossomed in his chest, and her previous warnings rang violently in his mind. "You have been planning this since the beginning. This is why..." He turned away from her, a hand coming up to rub over his mouth. He had always considered himself a clever man, but he had also long been aware of his weakness for a certain type of women.

"It's... why I was sent with you by my mother. It's why she saved your life to begin with. Caring for you... was not part of the plan." Her tone was soft, honest, but it stung and bit.

"And having me kill your mother?" He rounded on her. "Was that part of your plan? Some twisted test to see if I was strong enough?"

She was quiet for a moment, a silent, pleading expression on her face. "I wished to be free of her, as I have said. I was incorrect in believing that we would actually be able to end her life, but I have not been dishonest with you. This may save your life, Rian, and that alone makes me more determined to see it done. This is important to me."

"So you will conceive my child, and then make off with it and the soul of an Old God without another word to me," he said, shaking his head again.

"Please, do not cloud the issue. If you feel anything for me, then accept that it will make what we must do... that much easier."

"Will I ever see you again?" He felt like a petulant child, repeated himself, expression a terrible need for a woman who had conned her way into his affections and now offered blood magic as his only way out.

"After the archdemon has been slain? No. No, you will never see me again." Her voice broke, but he found himself doubting her. "Refuse my offer," she continued, her voice hardened once again, "and I leave now. This is... Simply how it must be."

Rian's fingers curled at his side, lips pressing into a thin line as he considered. "Is it your decision to never see me again?" He asked after a long moment, and she seemed surprised by the question.

"Rian..."

He waved a hand. "I don't want vague half-truths and twisted words, tell me, Morrigan."

"Can you not simply accept that it would be better that way?" Her tone was desperate, sharp, even as she struggled to keep it lowered.

"You have told me once before that I'm a selfish man, why should the future be any different?"

"As I warned you that anything between us would be a delusion, and you persisted. And see now where it has gotten you?" She made a motion to him.

"And you felt nothing, and you will feel nothing at your departure?"

"I did not. Say. That." She straightened her back, staring him down. "What is your decision, Rian?"

Rian wet his lips, a hand running through his short hair in a desperate bid for another moment to think. He already knew. Even as betrayal coiled in his gut, cold and hard, he knew. Her eyes narrowed in warning. "This is what you want?"

She nodded, brows raised as if unbelieving that he would ask the question.

After another moment, he nodded. "One more night."

Her expression relaxed, and she held a hand out to him. "Come to me, then."

* * *

"What did you mean, 'one more night'?" Morrigan asked as she toyed with his fingers.

She lay with her back pressed against his chest, his breath soft on her shoulder. He took a sleepy breath and nuzzled into her neck. "If I die tomorrow, your ritual did not save me. If I live, I will never see you again. I could not send you away. I am a selfish man, and you offered me one more night. How could I refuse?"

"Hm," she hummed in response, lacing their fingers together.

"Do you love me, Morrigan?"

Her fingers tightened their grip on his, and that was an answer in itself. "Do not ask me that."

"I already have."

"Why must you do this to me?"

"You told me once that love is a weakness- abhorrent- and yet, it is the only reason you got what you desired." He pressed a kiss to the back of her ear as she brought his hand closer to her chest. "Perhaps I am weak after all."

"Perhaps we both are."


End file.
